California — In a move rallied by
Siskiyou County’s supervisors and agricultural
landowners across the state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Wednesday signed a budget “trailer” bill that will add
$10 million to the state’s Williamson Act fund.

Counties in California had long been reimbursed for tax
revenue foregone by participation in the Williamson Act,
which allows landowners to be taxed on what they produce
rather than on the total acreage of land they own, as
long as they keep their land preserved from development.

Recent fiscal years saw the statewide budget for the
Williamson Act reimbursements virtually disappear,
leading a number of counties to consider dropping the
program altogether, which would return landowners’ tax
rates to a total acreage basis over a 10-year period.

In 2007, according to the California Department of
Conservation website, Siskiyou County had 410,992 acres
of prime and non-prime lands under Williamson Act
contracts.

Out of the $10 million, based on previous divisions of
the state funds, county staff have estimated that
Siskiyou County’s general fund will receive $200,000